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Summary: An Underground Education (Zacks)
Review: You must think you are the cat's patoot, so sure you know everything. You paid attention in class, got good grades, and everything Mr. or Mrs. Insert Teacher's Name Here said was true because they had a college degree and the bravery to stand in front of a bunch of slack jawed kids and try to teach them something. Well, have I got the book for you. Richard Zacks explodes our often mythic look at the world. This is not just another "your teacher lied to you in school" book. Zacks backs up his own history with actual primary source documentation. As he writes, "I started muttering, 'You can't make this stuff up!'." Zacks has divided the book into ten different sections: Arts & Literature, Business, Crime & Punishment, Everyday Life, Medicine, Religion, Science, Sex, World History, and American History. While each section can be read separately, it may be hard to put down the book after just one helping. Zacks covers a wide range of topics, but always keeps his writing simple and unpedestrian. You quickly realize that all of these icons in history were actually people just like you and me. Mata Hari was no genius spy, her mug shot taken before her execution shows a plain woman in her early forties. William Shakespeare used to write down to his common audiences, letting loose with filthy puns lost on today's students. Mark Twain and Benjamin Franklin, two of America's greatest humorists, both worked blue, writing material that you will not see in copies of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" or "Poor Richard's Almanack." You think Iraqi war profiteering is something new? Pity the poor soldiers of the Civil War, eating rancid meat and trying to fight with ancient weaponry all sold to the United States government by greedy business tycoons. Speaking of the Civil War, did you know that almost a million slaves held in the Union states of Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri were not freed until AFTER their enslaved brothers to the south? Thank the thirteenth amendment, since the Emancipation Proclamation only dealt with slaves in the Confederacy. The material covered is immense, from the race to build the first electric chair to the world's first indoor toilet. Hermaphrodites, bestiality, and a pope pushing cocaine laced wine, oh my! Zacks litters his text with photos, but they add to the prose. He lets his opinions be known often, from his outrage over the lynchings of the early twentieth century, to defending Amerigo Vespucci in light of criticism by others. Christopher Columbus does not get off as easily. He highlights the common as well as royal historical figures "An Underground Education" is a very good read. Once in a while, Zacks makes his point early, and a couple of vignettes run a little long (especially privateers in the Revolutionary War, and some of the business anecdotes), but the things you discover will outweigh any boredom you feel. If education is the key to success, then Zacks takes that key and breaks it off in the lock.
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Summary: Hilarious!
Review: Such a great book! It sort of stood out at the library so I started thumbing though it, and couldn't put it down!!
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Summary: Surprisingly Informative and Enjoyable
Review: My sister-in-law gave me this book for Christmas because she didn't really know what to get me. I read a lot, and I am very curious about the truth, so she took a chance. I approached this book with great hesitancy, expecting it to be all fluff. I was very wrong. I have learned quite a bit, have been entertained with each page and topic, and will re-read the book soon, since there is so much information on so many topics. Clever, sharp-witted and well-researched. A special bonus because you can read it in little bits, as there are numerous breaks by topic and within topics. I have small children, so I have to read around my play time. Anyway, I recommend it very highly. It is pretty risque, so no prudes or delicate senisibilities need bother.
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Summary: more praise for a deserving book
Review: I got this book as a college graduation present and absolutely could not put it down. It is a wonderful look at some obscure and misinterpreted historical information and for the most part, Zacks is careful not to state anything as absolute fact without well-documented proof. I am currently reading "History Laid Bare," also by Zacks and also a fantastic read, but I prefer "An Underground Education" because of the writing style (History Laid Bare is mostly quotes) and wider variety of topics.
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Summary: The Best Book Ever!
Review: I am a reader. I'll read anything once. That doesnt mean I'll alawys like it though. THis book was great! Zacks investigatges obscure tidbits from history, science, art, etc; and writes a very imforative book. THe nice thing is he tells you all his sources for information in the back, so if you do not believe him you can check it out. Now normally, one would assume that a book of facts would be boring. This is not the case! Its really funny. He writes as if he's your uncle Larry telling you a funny ancedote at the dinner table. It is a hilarious, eye-opening book. Some of the things he writes about are:
George Washington did not have wooden teeth....
And he was not the first president of the US...
Cleopatra was really ugly...
Edison and inventing the electric chair.... These are just a few of the ones that stuck out to me. THere are hundreds of these. The are written nice and short. This book is perfect if you want some light reading. It is very easy to just read a few blurbs (there might be 2 to a page average) or read a whole list of them. The book is also very organized and easy to find. If you are only intersted in science and nature, you can just turn to that section. If business, or art, or history, or sex, only intersts you, you can just turn to that.
The index is also very inclusive. I do not think this book is good for children. There are some very racy topics. But they are done in a tasteful manner. A mature high schoool student could handle this, but I would not give it to a middle school or gradeschooler. Its not a dirty book but it does mention some controversial topics like sappho's sexual orientation and the presence of hermaphrodites in ancient greek art. Though this book is good for almost anyone looking for a quick enjoyable read, if you like history or literature this book is even more appropriate. Sorry to have rambled but this is my alltime favorite book.
If you want to take a chance on something, try this one.
It really is worth it!
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Summary: History can be fun, too!
Review: I originally bought this book as a gift for someone, but as I glanced through the pages I knew I was going to have to get a copy for myself. Several times over the years I have referred back to passages in this book, including the sections on the origin of popular fairy tales, forgotten criminals, and the American history of privateers and pirates. The author has written the book in a very light tone - none of the stodginess of your high school history teacher is apparent anywhere in the book. While I wouldn't recommend this book for kids due to the large number of sexual references and the occasional nudie pic, it's definitely a lot of fun for any adult that enjoys the odder points of life.
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Summary: This book is AWESOME!!
Review: Definitely one of the more interesting books I've ever read. My favorite section was the one that highlighted all the sexual references in Shakespeare's plays. This is an easy, amusing read, packed with information. If you're the type that likes to know wacky information to amaze your friends with at parties, this is definitely a book for you. Or, if you are into oddities and the parts of history your history teacher wasn't allowed to talk about, you'll love this book as well.
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Summary: Good, but not 100 percent true.
Review: I read this book a few years ago, and loved it. It's very entertaining, and full of "facts" that you never learned in school. But in the years since I read it, I have come to discover that a lot of the "factual" stories are in fact urban legends....So while this book is really entertaining, it isn't all accurate, so it's hard to decide what is truth and what is fiction. Readers, beware!
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Summary: What they failed to mention back in grade school
Review: "An Underground Education" was insightful, enlightening, and downright funny. Once I got into some of the stories about what past leaders, popes, and famous folks in history were really up to, I couldn't put the book down. These were the type of stories that I wish my high school teachers would have put on there syllabus. Richard Zacks has a way with facts that are way stranger than fiction, and this book was especially well presented.
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Summary: one of the best trivia books!
Review: I am a voracious reader of history and trivia--and this has to rank as one of the best. My only minor quibble is that there is a distinct liberal bias in the commentary--I don't always agree with his commentary. But for uncovering ground that is not usually found in other books, this is a great read.
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